1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic data storage systems and, more particularly, to reserving a shared volume in a multiple node data storage system.
2. Related Art
Several different electronic data storage systems have been developed. Two such systems are known as single node data storage systems and multiple node data storage systems.
In a single node data storage system, multiple hosts access a shared volume via a single node. As used herein, a shared volume, which may also be referred to as a virtual volume, is a virtual storage space that stores data/information. A shared volume can physically exist, for example, as a single disk partition or multiple partitions on one or more physical disk drives. In a single node data storage system, the hosts access the shared volume one at a time via the single node. The single node regulates access to the shared volume and only allows one host at a time to access the shared volume. It is important that the hosts access the shared volume one at a time since simultaneous use of the shared volume by more than one host can corrupt the data/information stored in the shared volume.
In a multiple node data storage system, multiple hosts access a shared volume via multiple nodes. The shared volume stores data/information that is common to and used by the multiple hosts. As mentioned above, it very important that the hosts use the shared volume one at a time since simultaneous use by more than one host can corrupt the data/information stored in the shared volume. However, in multiple node systems, different hosts can access the shared volume via different nodes. As a result, multiple hosts may simultaneously use the shared volume, which results in the corruption of the data/information stored in the shared volume.